Seattle cheated on snow, but it's everywhere else

The schools closed, the buses and utility trucks chained up, and some people stayed home rather than risk going to the office.

But the snow expected to blanket Seattle by daybreak Wednesday didn't come.

That's not stopping forecasters from making a similar prediction for Thursday, however. And, they point out, it wasn't all wrong anyway. Mixed rain and snow did finally hit parts of Seattle off and on during the day. The heaviest snowfall was in Snohomish and Skagit counties, with 23 inches northeast of Arlington. It just didn't reach the central Puget Sound region.

Simply put, National Weather Service meteorologist Dennis D'Amico says, the Seattle area got shadowed by the Olympics for most of the day in what weather types call a "doughnut effect."

The mountains essentially "are a physical barrier ... it's harder to bring that precipitation into our region," he said.

On Thursday, the snow will crunch beneath your feet and tires in the Seattle area, he says. Really. Up to an inch or so through midmorning, and more possible Thursday night.

So what does that mean for you?

Well, if you have children in school, it likely means braving another day of canceled classes, even though Wednesday's snow day lacked snow and temperatures climbed into the upper 30s.

Seattle schools spokesman David Tucker explained that the decision about whether to have classes must be made fairly early, with officials considering transportation issues for students and staff, as well as the challenges that parents would face if classes are held but are then cut short.

"We always want to err on the side of safety," he said.

Seattle district officials hadn't decided Wednesday night to cancel classes today and wouldn't make that call until about 3 or 4 a.m., Tucker said. Some districts to the north and south that were dealing with heavier snowfall had already decided Tuesday afternoon to cancel or delay classes on Thursday.

Chains on, chains off

If you have places to be — work, for example — Thursday morning's anticipated snow means trusting in the city to get you there, or at least to help clear your path.

The city's Department of Transportation crews have coated major roadways with liquid de-icer and have sanders, plows and de-icing trucks poised.

Metro put tire chains on 80 percent of its 1,329-bus fleet to get ready for Wednesday morning but took them off rather than kick up sparks and tear up pavement.

"The No. 1 concern is always safety," Metro spokeswoman Linda Thielke said. "If we don't have to drive in the snow, that makes up happy."

But the chains will be put back on if this morning's Metro drivers face snow and ice.

Slick roads up north

Wednesday morning, the hardest-hit areas were from Marysville north, said State Patrol Trooper Keith Leary, who said Interstate 5 was covered with compact snow and ice, while surface streets were getting up to 3 inches of snow. Between 4:30 and 7 a.m., Leary said, troopers were called to help 16 vehicles that had skidded off the slick surface of I-5 in an eight-mile stretch of Snohomish County.

Everett got about 2 inches of snow, with about 4 inches falling near the Skagit County border, D'Amico said. About 10 inches of snow fell in Conway, Skagit County.

Wednesday night it started falling again as the evening commute got under way, coating Everett, then Lynnwood, then Shoreline and then into North Seattle as evening moved on.

Snow presented traffic challenges on highways throughout the region, particularly from Shoreline north to Bellingham, and in the mountain passes, said state Department of Transportation spokesman Sean McDermott. "We've been able to keep up with the snow and traffic conditions as they've come up," he said. "We just need drivers to do their part."

Chains were required on Interstate 90 eastbound at the pass, and traction tires were advised on Stevens Pass.

Turning up the heat

As temperatures drop, electricity use increases as residents crank up their heaters and other appliances work harder. Puget Sound Energy said Tuesday that its peak electricity load Monday night broke a record set in 1998, and natural-gas use broke a record set in 2006.

The Bellevue-based utility serves more than 1 million electrical customers and 750,000 gas customers in 11 counties.

In Seattle, energy demand also peaked Monday, Seattle City Light Superintendent Jorge Carrasco said, but it didn't reach the record demand of Dec. 21, 1990.

"Right now, our power supplies for the five-day forecast look good," Carrasco said, while calling for conservation, especially during peak usage times in the morning and evening. "Demand is about 25 percent above the average for this time of the year, but we have sufficient power-generating resources to meet that demand."

Seattle Times staff reporters Jack Broom, Charles E. Brown, Emily Heffter and Sonia Krishnan and The Associated Press contributed to this report.